date: 3 January 2007
embargo: 00:01 hours Thursday January 4 2007
Britons put in £23 billion of unpaid overtime a year
Employees in the UK who do unpaid overtime do an average of seven hours six minutes extra work a week, and would take home an extra £4,800 a year if they were paid the average wage for those unpaid hours, according to a new analysis of official statistics published by the TUC today (Thursday).
The TUC has calculated that if everyone in the UK who works unpaid overtime did all their unpaid work at the start of the year, the first day they would get paid would be Friday 23 February.
That is why the TUC has declared 23 February 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' and is calling on employees to use it to remind bosses of their extra unpaid work by taking a proper lunch break and going home on time for this one day a year. Employers should also use the day to say thank you to staff for their unpaid work, perhaps by buying them lunch or an after-work coffee or cocktail.
Across UK people did £23 billion worth of unpaid overtime last year. But there was a small drop of 18 minutes in the average amount of extra work - from seven hours 24 minutes to seven hours 6 minutes put in by the average worker doing unpaid overtime.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'We work the longest hours in Europe, and too many workplaces are gripped by a long hours culture. There are some small signs that we are getting a bit better, but there is still a long way to go. That is why we say that employees should take a stand on 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' and for just one day a year take a full lunch break and go home on time.
'We do not want to turn Britain into a nation of clock watchers, and few mind putting in extra effort from time to time when it is needed, but it is too easy for extra time to get taken for granted and then expected every week.'
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Regional breakdown of unpaid overtime
|
region |
average unpaid overtime |
numbers doing unpaid overtime |
value of weekly overtime |
value of annual overtime |
value of overtime in region in millions |
change in unpaid overtime since last year |
change in numbers working unpaid overtime since last year |
|
the North East |
7 hours 42 minutes |
162,540 |
£86.70 |
£4,509 |
£733 |
36 minutes more |
1.0% |
|
London |
7 hours 36 minutes |
709,492 |
£135.96 |
£7,070 |
£5,016 |
36 minutes less |
-0.4% |
|
Eastern England |
7 hours 12 minutes |
443,064 |
£91.66 |
£4,766 |
£2,112 |
18 minutes less |
-2.1% |
|
the West Midlands |
7 hours 12 minutes |
388,024 |
£86.04 |
£4,474 |
£1,736 |
12 minutes more |
1.6% |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber region |
7 hours 12 minutes |
343,702 |
£83.95 |
£4,366 |
£1,500 |
12 minutes less |
0.0% |
|
Northern Ireland |
7 hours 12 minutes |
69,969 |
£82.66 |
£4,298 |
£301 |
24 minutes less |
1.1% |
|
the South East |
7 hours 6 minutes |
867,458 |
£97.77 |
£5,084 |
£4,410 |
12 minutes less |
0.6% |
|
Wales |
7 hours 6 minutes |
171,238 |
£81.22 |
£4,224 |
£723 |
42 minutes less |
-2.7% |
|
the East Midlands |
7 hours |
377,759 |
£82.74 |
£4,302 |
£1,625 |
12 minutes less |
3.3% |
|
the South West |
6 hours 54 minutes |
417,198 |
£82.46 |
£4,288 |
£1,789 |
no change |
0.7% |
|
the North West |
6 hours 42 minutes |
422,224 |
£81.14 |
£4,219 |
£1,781 |
30 minutes less |
1.7% |
|
Scotland |
6 hours 30 minutes |
416,379 |
£79.82 |
£4,151 |
£1,728 |
18 minutes less |
0.4% |
- A full regional breakdown is also available at http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/regiontable.pdf
- All figures on working hours are taken from the Labour Force Survey Summer 2006. Earnings data from ASHE 2006. Those working less than one hour of unpaid overtime a week are excluded.
- For more information on the TUC's fourth 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' visit www.workyourproperhoursday.com
Contacts:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248; M: 07778 158175; E: media@tuc.org.uk
Press release (700 words) issued 4 Jan 2007
